A year ago I didn't know much about geographic information systems (GIS) or Global Positioning Systems (GPS), but my curiosity about today's technology drove me to take a week- long class called CORSE at Cayuga Community College.
Little did I know that this class was just the beginning.
CORSE (Conference of Remote Sensing Education) is designed to teach K-14 teachers how to use Geographic Information Technology (GIT) in the classroom. During the class, I worked with two other community members, including a math teacher at Genesee Elementary School in Auburn and a student from Leslie B. Lehn Middle School in Port Byron. Together we focused on incorporating the technologies we learned into a community service learning project.
The project we designed, “Watershed Awareness with Geographic Technology,” provides students with the opportunity to learn about GIS, GPS, and remote sensing imagery by monitoring a local watershed. This past spring, Genesee Elementary fifth-grade students put the lesson to the test.
This fifth-grade class began by learning how a GPS unit operates. This was made possible by Auburn Education Foundation, which provided Genesee Elementary School with a number of GPS units. After their lesson on GPS, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County was invited to do a lesson on the water cycle and water quality. We used a project WET activity called The Incredible Journey to demonstrate how water travels through our environment. To educate on water quality, we used a 3D watershed model that shows how pollution affects a water body.
Students then applied their knowledge of water quality and GPS as they walked part of the Seneca River Watershed. During the walk (around the block of their elementary school), students pointed out potential sources of pollution that could harm water quality. They marked these pollutants as waypoints on their GPS units and then recorded elevation, longitude, latitude, specific location and solutions for the pollutant on a sheet of paper.
In an hour's time the students found six different potential sources of water pollution: erosion, grass clippings, oil, trash, pet waste household and hazardous waste. With these pollutants marked on the GPS units the students were able to download them to a computer and create a geo-spatial map. They then analyzed the map and developed an even stronger understanding of how their individual actions can affect the health of the environment.
The students became very passionate about the project and were very eager to pass on their new found knowledge to others.
To educate their peers, they created posters and hung in the school's main hallway. To educate the public, the class decided to write a letter on their findings/concerns and distribute it to community members.
Last year, I would have never imagined that a group of three inexperienced GIS and GPS students could generate such a useful lesson plan on geographic technology.
Renee Jensen is a community educator of environmental issues at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.
CORSE (Conference of Remote Sensing Education) is designed to teach K-14 teachers how to use Geographic Information Technology (GIT) in the classroom. During the class, I worked with two other community members, including a math teacher at Genesee Elementary School in Auburn and a student from Leslie B. Lehn Middle School in Port Byron. Together we focused on incorporating the technologies we learned into a community service learning project.
The project we designed, “Watershed Awareness with Geographic Technology,” provides students with the opportunity to learn about GIS, GPS, and remote sensing imagery by monitoring a local watershed. This past spring, Genesee Elementary fifth-grade students put the lesson to the test.
This fifth-grade class began by learning how a GPS unit operates. This was made possible by Auburn Education Foundation, which provided Genesee Elementary School with a number of GPS units. After their lesson on GPS, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County was invited to do a lesson on the water cycle and water quality. We used a project WET activity called The Incredible Journey to demonstrate how water travels through our environment. To educate on water quality, we used a 3D watershed model that shows how pollution affects a water body.
Students then applied their knowledge of water quality and GPS as they walked part of the Seneca River Watershed. During the walk (around the block of their elementary school), students pointed out potential sources of pollution that could harm water quality. They marked these pollutants as waypoints on their GPS units and then recorded elevation, longitude, latitude, specific location and solutions for the pollutant on a sheet of paper.
In an hour's time the students found six different potential sources of water pollution: erosion, grass clippings, oil, trash, pet waste household and hazardous waste. With these pollutants marked on the GPS units the students were able to download them to a computer and create a geo-spatial map. They then analyzed the map and developed an even stronger understanding of how their individual actions can affect the health of the environment.
The students became very passionate about the project and were very eager to pass on their new found knowledge to others.
To educate their peers, they created posters and hung in the school's main hallway. To educate the public, the class decided to write a letter on their findings/concerns and distribute it to community members.
Last year, I would have never imagined that a group of three inexperienced GIS and GPS students could generate such a useful lesson plan on geographic technology.
Renee Jensen is a community educator of environmental issues at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.
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